My wife's '99 EX coupe 4 cyl (135K+) has been having some rough idling and stalling issues lately, and I suspect it's in need of an EGR cleaning (CEL is on and throwing an EGR code... don't remember the exact #, something about insufficient lift I think). I've read pretty much all the information available about this procedure I can find online, and went to tackle the job the other day. My intent was to remove the upper intake plenum entirely as well as pull the EGR valve so I can clean out the runner built into the lower intake as well as get all the crud out of the plenum (which I suspect will be quite a lot, because the car uses oil like crazy), but I only made it about halfway before getting stumped and deciding to put it all back together and go at it again when I have more time and a better idea of what I'm doing.

Essentially what I accomplished was remove all of the various vacuum hoses attached to the top of the intake plenum, as well as pull the intake tube between the airbox and throttle body, as well as disconnect all the various electrical connectors. At that point I started wondering what to do about the throttle cables, and wasn't sure how to disconnect them (or whether they would require re-adjustment if they were disconnected). Do I disconnect them from the spring-loadeded throttle mechanism? How do i go about doing that? Is there just a small ball on the end of each cable that I can "unhook" to remove it from the pulleys? And do I just loosen the adjustment nuts to remove them from the clip attached to the front of the plenum?

My next obstacle was that I wasn't expecting to have to deal with any coolant, but when I went to remove the hose connected directly below where the air intake connects to the throttle body and coolant started leaking out, I pushed it right back on (only lost about a tablespoon, if that) and realized I needed to deal with that. I've read a couple other threads where folks have suggested draining half or all of the coolant for this procedure; what's the proper way to go about that? I'm sure I can find the petcock on the bottom of the radiator and let it drain as much as will come out via gravity, but do I need to worry about draining/flushing the block as well? If so, where's the block drain? Can I just put the drained coolant right back in when I'm done, or should I put new stuff in? Step-by-step for properly refilling and bleeding the coolant system?

Thanks!

 

How about a manual? It will answer all those questions. Suggest looking for a download at Online Manuals post in DIY Forum here. Alternatively, check Autozone manuals for some help.

Yes, throttle cables are disconnected and no throttle cables don't require adjustment if done correctly.

good luck